Coping
by Erin Reya
Summary: About a young haremaid dealing with the loss of a family member as well as being a new recruit in the Long Patrol. Where anger and disobedience leads an independant haremaid.
1. Insolence

****

Disclaimer: The Redwall series belongs to the brilliant Brian Jacques. Salamandastron and the Long Patrol are from his imagination. Characters and plot are all mine.

__

They'd won the battle. It was not a bloodless victory, as the Long Patrol would call it. It should've been. They had lost hares. Not many, but they never wanted to lose anyone. They cleaned up and disposed of any evidence of a battle along the Salamandastron. Now the battle was over and gone. The hard part had come.

The officers made their way in, early that morning. They had news to break.

No one noticed the small young haremaid who turned and ran, hiding her tears from everyone.

-----------

That had been over a season ago. A tiny, meaningless battle, shuffled back in the dark corners of the mountain's memories. Who cared?

That small young haremaid who'd ran before now stood solidly, lined up with the other young fresh picks of recruits for the Long Patrol. She was startled out of her reverie by the barking sound of her commanding officer's voice.

"Have you fallen asleep, Private Contarelle?" She cringed at the sound of her last name. She never understood why officers couldn't call their troops by their first name.

"No, sah. Quite awake, Sarge." Was her quipping reply, looking up into the dark gaze of Sergeant Sandscut. 

"Stand up tall, chin up, ears straight!" He barked in her face. Biting back a sigh, she did as she was told. That was another thing she didn't understand. She knew Sandscut was a very laid back creature, but he became the authority of Hellsgates as soon as he was thrown into an officer position. She supposed it came with the territory.

"Yes, sah," she muttered unenthusiastically. She could take any one of those recruits with her eyes closed; the officers were sure of it. She could outrun any hare on the mountain; the officers were also sure of this. But she was not an advocate on following orders, and she made this very clear to everyone around her.

"I can't hear you, Private!" Sandscut yelled again, trying to get a slight rise out of her.

She took a breath and yelled right back "Mayhap you should get your hearing checked, sah!"

There were a few smothered chuckles among the other young recruits, but most watched in shock.

"Are you tryin' to be cute?" The sergeant dropped his voice this time, staring straight into the young haremaid's bright violet eyes.

Undeterred, she kept yelling as she seemed to have been instructed to do before. "I'm sorry, sah! Can't hear you, wot!" She hadn't meant to add the 'wot.' It had slipped.

"Go back inside," Sandscut said impatiently. "I'm not dealing with your insolence today."

"Yes, sah!" This time she threw in a salute for good measure. She turned and walked off, ignoring the dropped jaws of her audience.

She slipped in through the gate and walked into the mountain. It was about time for lunch, wasn't it? On her way towards the dining hall, she nearly collided with another hare. After checking her balance, she looked up into a familiar face.

She went to continue walking after saying a simple "Hullo, Lieutenant."

The other hare turned and followed her. "Shouldn't you be in training, Eula?"

"You'd jolly well think so, wouldn't you?" She said with a roll of her eyes, continuing to walk off.

"Eula! He kicked you out again?"

"Could say that, wot."

"I'll talk to him, c'mon."

"G'way Jamie."

---------

__

"Oh leave her be, Nate. Eula's a good gel, wot?"

"You want to hang around with my flippin' little sister over your best friend, go right ahead, Jame."

"Well, you heard him, Eula! Gonna hang out with you, wot?" The small haremaid shrieked with laughter as she was scooped up and spun about playfully.

"Haha! Stoppit Jamie!"

"Quick, Nate! I'll hold her down, you tickle!"

--------

Later that night, Eula walked along the beach in the shallow surf, watching the sun sink into the sea. That forever unreachable horizon in the distance. Kicking up a bout of water, she turned back towards the mountain.

She doubled around the back way and slipped into the training grounds. There she saw a small contingent of hares sparring whilst a single hare walked about giving suggestions and examples to the training crew.

"Evening, Lieutenant." Eula walked up to the commanding officer, who spun around to look at her.

"Hullo there, m'gel. In a better mood, I hope?"

"Guess so." She shrugged and leaned back against the fence, watching the other hares.

"Looks like you got 'em in blinkin' shape, Jamie."

"Lieutenant to you, kiddo." He grinned, indicating his platoon.

One of the hares ran up to the Jamie, a saber held in a pair of strong paws.

"Sah." He said quickly, waiting to be acknowledged before continuing. Jamie nodded at him.

"I'd like extra practice outside of this group, sah. Could you help me out a bit afterwards?"

"Certainly. Just hold back after, and I'd be glad to help you."

Eula stood silently, watching Jamie talk to the hare. Then he was distracted and ran off to a pair of sparring recruits to fix a problem.

The one who'd requested help from his commanding officer now turned with a grin to Eula. "Hullo there, m'gel. Name's Daikon." He held a paw to Eula, smiling amiably.

She accepted the paw. "Y'can call me, Eula."

She watched in confusion as the hare pulled his paw away and gave her a nasty smirk. "Oh, I've heard o' you, wot! Keep getting your bally self chucked outta training. Heard you're afraid of goin' to battle and dyin'..."

Eula's paws clenched at her side, already anticipating what would come next.

"Jus' like that flamin' brother of yours."

"Shut up," she growled angrily, trembling in rage.

"It's true, isn't it, m'gel? You're just a cowa-"

He couldn't finish his sentence, as Eula had knocked him straight to the ground. Daikon was too shocked by her response that Eula was given the chance to land one hard hit right on his jaw. Before she could throw another punch, he'd brought his legs up and kicked her off backwards.

Falling on the ground, she had jumped to her footpaws in the blink of an eye. Daikon had stood, ready for her assault. She went to launch herself at him but was caught around the waist and held back. "Eula, stop!"

"Argh, Jamie, let me go!" She screamed. "Let me go!" She was struggling uselessly with the strong Lieutenant. "I'll kill him, let me go!"

~~~~~

****

A/N- You're probably confused, eh? Summing it up. This is kind of more of an introduction to Eula before the actual plot starts. Please review! Otherwise I won't be motivated to continue. Thank-you.


	2. Trouble?

Trying to squirm from Jamie's strong grasp proved fruitless. The rest of the Long Patrol hares simply watched in confusion as their Lieutenant carried off an obviously angered haremaid. None of them seemed to notice Daikon pick himself up, turning away as he rubbed an injured jaw.

Eula soon found herself planted back on her footpaws and being stared -or rather glared at. She looked around and found herself inside and she turned, glaring stubbornly back at Jamie. It would have been an amusing scene to passersby, as Eula was about half Jamie's size.

It was Jamie who broke the seemingly relentless staring contest. He sighed and shook his head at the younger haremaid. "Eula."

"Jamie." She replied in a low, furious voice, crossing her arms.

"Look, m'gel. I can't have you bally well beatin' the livin' daylights out of my group."

"Yeah, well Dirtbag-"

"-Daikon."

"Deserved what he had coming," she continued, ignoring Jamie's interruption.

"Eula, my hares have training above you. You'll get hurt." He frowned slightly, knocking off most of Eula's defense of anger. She knew he really cared about her and found herself rather annoyed that he could use that as an argument. She attempted to pluck up some of her former fury.

"I do believe I delivered the winning hit, wot."

"He would've gotten you if I let you keep on fighting."

"Let me?" She drew out sardonically.

"I heard what the little cad said. I gave you sufficient time to land one good hit without lookin' suspicious on my part. I'd deck the bounder if he wasn't one of my own recruits."

It took Eula a few moments for what Jamie said to sink in. "You let me hit him?"

"Depends on who you ask, wot. If me, then yes. Anyone else, absoballylutely not."

"Ah..." she drew out, slightly confused. Before she could puzzle it out, Jamie chucked her beneath the chin gently, smiling at her with a wink.

"Talk to you later, m'gel. Hafta get back out, y'know." He turned and jogged back out, leaving Eula alone.

Sighing in resignation, she turned and went off to bed. Only as she curled up under her blanket did she realize Jamie had won the argument with compassion when she was angry enough to spit fire. She'd have to keep an eye out for that tactic later.

Compassion. Ha. Weirdo.

********

Eula was tired and weary during training the following morning. The fact that she was trying to keep herself in line and not anger the sergeant was not improving her bad temper.

One of the few times that she had stopped and fidgeted with her light ash stave, Sandscut approached her. "Enjoying yourself, Contarelle?"

Her eyes shot up at the sound of the officer's voice. "No sah, sorry sah." She stood up straight and saluted, but this time out of respect. "I was just takin' a break. I'll-"

"Wait, come on this way," he beckoned her with a nod of his head. She groaned inwardly. Having a talk with your commanding officer in private was never a good thing. But she took up her stave, and holding it loosely at her side, followed Sandscut off to a corner.

When they stopped, Eula looked straight up at Sandscut, hiding the worry she felt. "So are y'bored during training, Eula?"

First name. Not good. Not good at all.

"I. Um. Well," she stumbled over her words in reply, dropping the cool and composure she was so well known for. Finally she paused and took a moment. Squaring her shoulders, she replied bluntly. "Yes."

"Ah," he replied lightly and leaned casually against the wall. Eula wasn't paying attention to his tone or his expression. She was watching the dagger he was idly twiddling with in his paws.

Eula's long, black-tipped ears perked as the sergeant spoke again. "I heard you landed a hit on one of Lieutenant Sersea's patrol."

She decided to keep her mouth shut rather than confirm or deny. She turned her head slightly, looking off in another direction. This was not going to end well. She had admitted finding the training sessions boring, and her commanding officer knew she hit another hare. A hare that was older and therefore more important than her.

"You took on a higher ranking soldier and bruised his jaw," he told her, as if she wasn't aware what had happened. She glanced up in time to see him quirk an eyebrow. "Where are _your_ injuries?"

He was watching her intently -why? She couldn't quite cover the confusion she was experiencing now. Taking a few moments as if pondering her answer, she eventually came up truthfully. "Jamie... I mean... Lieutenant Sersea pulled us apart before the fight got any further along."

"That shouldn't have been possible. You're half Private Daikon's size with not a fourth of his training."

Eula stood there, not knowing if she was supposed to apologize or smile. She was still terribly confused, however. She decided to just get it over with. "Sah.. Sarge. Am I in trouble?"

He looked at her for a long while, which was making her very uncomfortable. Finally, he held a paw forth. "Give me your stave, Contarelle."

And there it was. Hardly able to contain her disappointment, she surrendered the weapon. "Very well, sah."

He turned the stave over in his paws, then looked back at her. He was smiling.

"You'll need a proper weapon if you're to join Sersea's patrol."

~~~~~~~

A/N- Please review. It takes motivation to write chapters for other people to see. Thank you. =)


	3. Balance&Ecstasy

"_What_ did you tell him!?"

"Eula-"

"I thought he was going to kick me out of the flippin' Long Patrol!"

"Eula-"

"_Give me your stave, Contarelle."_

"Eula-"

Jamie sat in his room, papers scattered over a desk at which he sat. His eyes followed the younger haremaid as she stormed back and forth in front of him, ranting on about something he hadn't quite caught on to.

"You realize how bally terrified I was!?"

"Eula-"

"But no, I was reassigned. _Reassigned_, Jamie!"

"Eula!" He finally yelled, clapping a paw to his forehead. "Give it a rest! Now what the flip are y'talking about m'gel?"

She looked austerely at him, tilting her head a bit as she put her paws on her waist in what would have seemed to be a sarcastically strict manner. Jamie tried not to laugh. Eula could carry on an entire conversation with her poses.

"Like you don't jolly well don't know what I'm talkin' about."

Jamie only shrugged, nonplussed.

Eula fished into a pocket of her tunic until she extracted a crumpled parchment. Stepping towards Jamie, she pressed it into his paws. She stepped back to watch him read it. After a moment, an astounded look crossed his features and became more defined by the moment.

Even after she knew he'd finished reading it, he was still staring blankly at the scribbling of words and signatures. Finally he lowered the paper and flicked his gaze up to Eula.

"This breaks so many rules, Eula. Couldn't even know where t'begin, wot. You're too young, y'hit an older Long Patrol hare, y'mouthed off to your officer, and... y'get bumped up a rank. Lord Halestripe even signed this thing his blinkin' self."

Eula shrugged, rather caught by surprise that Jamie wasn't responsible for her promotion. "Tell y'the truth. Sandscut seemed impressed that I decked Daikon." She smirked. "Decked Daikon. That sounds funny, eh?"

Jamie didn't seem terribly amused. "You realize you're in the same patrol as Daikon now?"

There was a noticeable pause from Eula there. "Halestripe musta' gone off his flamin' rocker, Jamie. Promotin' me a good two or three seasons early into _your_ patrol."

He sighed, laying the paper among the mess on his desk. "My hares will eat you alive."

She obviously found this offensive, as she replied with a toss of her head. "I'm not scared of them."

"I'm not sure if that's the attitude I want you to have, m'gel." He frowned a bit, then stood. "Go get some sleep, busy day tomorrow, Eula."

"Oh really?"

"You're in my blinkin' patrol now. I can't promise I'll be easy on you, Eula."

Before she could go on the defensive again, he took her by the shoulders and steered her from his room. "G'night," he spared her before he shut the door on her.

***********

Eula walked about the storage area just beside the mountain's forgery. It stored all the available weapons inside of the Salamandastron stronghold. The weapons greatly differed, from swords and daggers to axes and maces.

Jamie was inside the doorway, leaning back against the wall and musing at how hopelessly out of place the small haremaid seemed, surrounded by the multitudes of deadly weapons. Eula still walked about as if she owned the place, as she did just about everywhere. He watched her carefully, but stayed out of the way, trying to pay attention to what caught her eye and what she passed by disinterestedly.

After a few minutes, he realized she seemed to keep doubling back to the same couple of blades. Abandoning his position by the door, he walked over, deciding to help her out. Maybe test her a bit-- it wouldn't hurt.

He lifted a sword from a hang on the wall and presented it to Eula hilt-first. It was one she'd been noticeably eyeing. "Try this one." He said, making it seem as if he planned to give it to her all along.

She took it, and he watched her. She seemed comfortable enough holding a sword-- and Jamie wasn't quite sure what to think of that, really. She stepped away from him and twirled it in her paws, running subconscious tests of balance and weight for herself.

She finally brought her eyes back up to Jamie and shrugged slightly. "It's kind of heavy for me. Something else?"

He nodded, immensely pleased when she returned the weapon to him and he put it away. He knew the sword wouldn't have suited her, and was glad that she could tell that for herself.

Turning, he crossed the room and stopped at a rapier. He seemed to recall her eyeing this one. Lifting the weapon, he inspected it himself. It was actually an enviable piece of work. It had been whetted recently and showed no flaws. He saw Eula come up beside him and he glanced at her. "How 'bout this one?"

When he handed it to her, she took it, admiring the ringed hilt. She stepped away from Jamie again, looking at the long, thin blade and running a paw down the flat edge, satisfied at the smoothness. Balancing it in her paws, Jamie already knew she was hooked. She nodded at him with a smile. "I like this one."

"Good choice," he said approvingly, taking the scabbard that had been placed beneath the rapier. He handed it to her. "Light'n'swift. Like you."

**********

She lay on her stomach in bed that night, her new blade laid out in front of her. Jamie had been too busy that afternoon after she'd gotten it to start training her.

He was going to give her a few lessons personally before she joined training sessions with his patrol. She'd protested to begin with, but was too excited about her new rapier to hold an argument, so she relented.

She couldn't stop admiring the rapier. She was positive she had the most gorgeous weapon on the whole mountain. The ecstasy that came with the possession of a brand new blade had overcome her, and she continuously fondled the hilt, admiring the lightness of the deadly object. Running a paw somnolently along the ringed hilt, she unwittingly drifted into a calmed sleep.

With sleep came the childish dreams of superiority and valor.

***********

A/N~ Alas, chapter 3. Wanted to take the quick second to thank you for the reviews and to say: Keep 'em coming! I won't deny that I enjoy writing this, and it makes it better if I know others enjoy it was well. That's all. kthnxbi


	4. No Offense

Jamie wasn't going to admit how impressed he was with Eula. He wasn't going to tell her how wonderful her reflexes were. He wasn't going to tell her how he'd never taught someone who learned so quickly. After all, she was egotistical enough, he needn't thrust her into his patrol with her cockiness even more pronounced.

"A break?" Jamie offered, trying to make it seem as though he didn't need one, but was offering it for Eula's sake.

The bright-eyed young haremaid showed very little evidence of exertion as she gave a negligent twirl of her new rapier. "I'm doin' just fine, Jamie."

He kept his expression straight. It was a rule. Creatures should only get speed or endurance. They weren't allowed to have much of both. Darned if Eula didn't.

"Would y'tell on me if I said I needed a break?"

She grinned at him and shrugged, sheathing her weapon. Jamie followed suit and leaned back against the rock jetties on the shore. He watched Eula skip, carefree, towards the water, letting the sea cool her footpaws. She gave a small twirl, sending a shower of water into the windy air.

It made Jamie smile. That was the Eula he knew. Why didn't anyone else know her like that?

He blinked out of his thoughts when she glanced over at him, still walking back and forth in the shallow surf. "So how'm I doing, wot? Up to par? Learning okay?"

"You're doing.... pretty well." Jamie was answering carefully, but he saw Eula's smirk. "Not jolly well surprising, m'gel, the way Sandscut spoke of you."

That made her laugh. "Jokin', right? I thought he hated me."

Jamie smiled, crossing his footpaws casually. "Oh, he does."

There was a few moments of silence. Then, "So can I start training with your patrol?"

He studied her for a few minutes, seeming to size her up. "Y'think you're ready, then?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please!"

"Bright'n'early tomorrow morning, Eula."

***************

So Eula found herself on the training grounds at dawn the next morning with her new patrol. She received some strange sideways glances, but never mind. She'd expected that.

After everyone stretched, the hares gathered about when Jamie called for attention. They all stood, full attention on their commanding officer.

"G'morning," he started with and, to Eula's surprise, was responded to with an enthusiastic greeting from everyone else.

He paced about, looking at everyone, scarcely acknowledging the fact that Eula was there. "I've been thinking about what you buncha slackers need t'work on. Your offense is seriously lacking, and we'll concentrate on that for now."

Eula glanced about at the others. None of them seemed to be offended by the insults. In fact, most seemed amused by how their Lieutenant spoke with them. Jamie continued.

"You all will pair off, and for a little while you're going to work on offensive tactics, instead of defending your sorry selves. Then I'll tell you everything y'did wrong when I've walked around. I've been doing a lot of thinking about how to improve, for I already know many things you do incorrectly."

At this declaration, one of the others spoke out. "Y'really need a lass, sah." Eula blinked, surprised anyone was at audacious as she was. But there was a general, good-natured laughter among the group.

Jamie turned his attention to the one who'd spoken out, straight-faced. "Y'know, I was just thinkin' that the other day, Cal. That Kendrie is a pretty gel. Y'think I have a chance with her?"

Cal's face went slack momentarily. "No, sah. She's mine."

Jamie smiled. "No kiddin'?" When everyone laughed again, he waved them into silence. "Right, in all seriousness chaps, pair off now."

They paired off quickly. It was obvious there were many friends in this patrol. Jamie immediately went about separating some couples and mixing them around. He brought over a haremaid and paired her with Eula. When he left, Eula glanced at the other haremaid.

"Haven't seen you before, wot." The other maid started the conversation.

"New," Eula replied blandly.

"Bit young aren't ya?"

When Eula only shrugged, the other maid went right along. "Well, you can call me Del."

"Short for something?" Eula queried.

"Yes," Del replied. When she said no more, Eula figured she wasn't going to tell her.

"Y'can call me Eula."

"Short for something?"

"Yes."

There was a brief exchange of amused smiles between the two. Del reached to her side and drew her sword, holding it aloft in front of her. "Well, Eula, let's see if you're any good, wot."

Eula nodded, tugging the rapier at her side free, and holding it likewise. She watched as Del took a moment to study her opponent's weapon.

"Nice blade."

"Back at'ya."

Del made a quick slash and Eula parried lightly, taking a small step to the side. After a few minutes of dueling, Eula found herself becoming frustrated. It was not because Del was a bad swordfighter, but because she was always on the defensive, which completely contradicted Eula's movements.

"All right, stop." Eula said, fed up. Del certainly looked offended at being bossed by the younger recruit, but she stopped anyway.

"You aren't trying. You're not on the offensive at all," Eula told her.

Del was quiet for a few seconds, sizing Eula up. "Didn't want to flamin' injure you on your first day here."

Eula bit her tongue, frustrated. So was this the way it was going to be? She'd just be looked down on as the young, small, fragile haremaid? She was about to say this, but switched tactics.

She flicked on a condescending smirk. "Injure me, Del? Ha! You couldn't injure me if you _wanted_ to."

She watched the older haremaid's eyes narrow. "What's that s'posed to mean?"

"You couldn't take on a one-legged rat with its arms tied," Eula continued icily.

Del was completely taken aback at the nerve of the small haremaid. "I'll make ya eat those words, young'n." She spat just before she lashed out with her sword.

Eula parried quickly, anticipating her angered attack. Eula found herself hardly being able to attack Del now, completely trying to defend herself. She was much more satisfied, even after a few minutes when she ended up flat on her back, pinned.

Both haremaids were breathing quickly, but Del was staring daggers down at Eula. "That should teach you, wot."

Eula flicked on a smile. "How come y'pinned me this time and not the others?"

"I'm bally insulted from your insolent little tongue!"

"Well, could you be bally insulted from my insolent little tongue more often?"

It took Del a few moments to understand what Eula had just said. When realization dawned on her face, she pulled off of her and offered a paw to help her up.

"You're a bit too blinkin' clever for your own good, Eula."

She laughed, accepting the paw as she stood back up. "You aren't the first one t'tell me that, Del."

As she brushed off her tunic and prepared for another duel, she felt the quiet satisfaction of making a new friend.

**********

A/N- To Catty Engles: First off, thanks for reviewing all my chapters so far, it means a lot to me! (Same to Acoustical_Ferret- you review almost everything I do) And yes, it is pronounced like Circe. I didn't even think of that! Which is kind of lame, because I love The Odyssey. Maybe the sound of it was my subconscious liking to the name. *shrug* Greek Mythology kicks. The only thing I could stand through History classes.

Bring on the reviews!


	5. Victors on The Log

She'd been training with Jamie's patrol for little under a week and hadn't encountered any serious problems with the others in her group. After the first day, they'd taken it harder on her when they realized that her being assigned with them hadn't been a joke. So she went from being the most skilled fighter in her patrol, to being absolutely pummeled.

She loved it.

But this afternoon she was enjoying a break from training by going to play with the other young hares in the wooded area on the side of the mountain.

Walking with Del, she stopped as they encountered the large group of hares, most of which were cheering and waving their arms about in the air. "Somebeast must be lickin' the others on the log," Del said as they came up and tried to get a better view.

The log was what they nicknamed a popular game that was played out in the woods. Being short, she couldn't get a proper view of the happenings. Eula pushed and slipped her way until she could see what was going on.

What she looked at was a long, thick log that spanned a small pond. Although it could hardly be described as a pond. Where the water would be was instead a very thick, sticky mud. The game was simple really. Two opponents meet on opposite sides of the log and try to push the other into the mud.

She arrived just in time to see one of the hares get pushed into the mud. A loud cheer went up throughout the onlookers as the beaten hare, completely covered in mud, squelched his way out, laughing good-naturedly and waving to the hare who he'd just competed against.

She clapped half-heartedly along with the ecstatic crowd before flicking her gaze to the victor. It was an older male, who, she was pleased to see, was smiling kindly and giving a rather modest shake of his head.

When the applause died down, she watched the champion immediately change back to a tough stance. She quirked a smile.

"Twelve wins, would it be, chaps? Anybeast try their luck, wot?"

Eula arched an eyebrow. Twelve wins? That was _very_ impressive. She turned and glanced about for Del before realizing she'd left her behind the crowd. She shot a glace at the game before turning and trying to get back through the mob. She ignored all the jostling before she nearly toppled over, colliding with someone else.

A pair of paws quickly grabbed her and righted her before she could fall. Regaining her balance, she brushed herself off a bit needlessly and glanced up to thank the one who'd caught her.

The 'thank-you' got caught in her throat as she realized who it was. She jerked her arm free of his grasp and narrowed her eyes. "Don't touch me."

The older male blinked, as if just realizing who she was. "Oh- I- you- sorry..." He held his paws up, as if afraid to touch her again. "Look I-" He stopped, looking to another who seemed to be pulling him along.

"Come ON, you cad. You're next!" 

He glanced vaguely to Eula, then turned away, allowing himself to be lead away.

__

Stupid Daikon, Eula fumed. She shook herself, wanting to over dramatize the fact he'd _touched_ her. Never mind the fact she'd blindly walked into him. That just wasn't the point.

She turned to go find Del again, with more purpose. She had to tell her about THIS. Just as she was about to go on, she heard a new competition starting up. A loud yell resounded over the crowd.

"The next competitor is Daikon Lysander!" 

Eula hesitated. No. She didn't care about seeing this competition. Who cared? Not her!

Pause.

It wouldn't hurt. Silently chiding herself, she went back to where she could see the game. She would get her own pleasure out of seeing Daikon tossed though. Who could blame her?

By the time she struggled her way back through the tightly packed creatures, a hare was already in the mud. A delighted smirk crossed her features. How long had Daikon lasted? Twenty, maybe thirty seconds?

Then she got a proper glance of the victor. She bit back a few inventive curses. He won!?

She watched in disbelief as he turned and smiled, taking a bow to his applauding audience.

"Next?" Daikon shouted when the cheering died out. Eula glanced around and noticed everyone was kind of melting back, not wanting to be noticed. She rolled her eyes. Daikon probably won out of a burst of luck anyway. As if mocking her thoughts, she heard a voice hail her as she turned to leave.

"Eula?"

She turned about, replying smoothly. "Daikon?" She'd mostly avoided conversation with the older hare over the past week. Only the occasional sarcastic remark had been exchanged. She'd never really gotten what his impression was of her joining the patrol.

"Don't s'pose you'd care to try against me, wot?" Daikon spoke casually, and most watching must've assumed the two were friends.

"Shame, I was _just_ leaving," she replied coldly, turning to leave again. Ha. She wasn't going to be made a fool of on his account.

"C'mon now, m'gel. The others will think you're frightened."

Eula might just have walked away, if it weren't for the several snickers she heard among the crowd. Those bounders. They were the ones that were too scared to test their skills.

She turned about, scowling at him for a moment. Then she walked forward confidently, with a cool "Fine," loud enough for the onlookers.

Well... she'd taken him down once. Right?

***************

A/N~ Sorry it took me so long to update. Been uberly busy, y'know? I'm on Spring Break now though, and if I don't become a lazy slacker (mayhap it's too late) I'll take this week to do some proper updating.


	6. Good Game Sorta

Daikon did nothing to mask the fact that he was quite proud of himself. If there was anything he'd learned of the younger haremaid, it was that she would not turn down a challenge or be made fun of.

He watched in silence as the crowd parted and allowed Eula to come up and jump lightly onto the log. Daikon waited until she was prepared before he turned and walked off to his side. He gave a flourishing bow to his opponent, forcing Eula, although reluctantly, to give a bow as well.

Another hare, seemingly a self-appointed referee who stood just off the side of the mud-filled pond called out to them. "Ready?"

They both gave a nod, not taking their eyes off of each other. Daikon's calm confidence made Eula nervous, even though she knew it was just what he intended. She'd played this game plenty of times before, of course, but she'd always been pretty sure of herself. She was quickly regretting accepting this challenge.

"Then go!" she heard the voice call out again. They quickly approached each other, Eula going along as if she were walking along solid ground. Balance was always her advantage... but she was counting her disadvantages at the moment.

Daikon lunged at her, going to grab her around the shoulders. Eula reacted instantly, dropping down and kicking a footpaw out forward. She hadn't counted on Daikon reacting as quickly. He'd changed in the blink of an eye, stopping short and grabbing her by the ankle, trying to throw her off balance.

Eula held her arms out, holding strong on her other leg to maintain her balance. She turned, giving a quick twist of her ankle that forced Daikon to release her before he stumbled. There was a pause in the competition as the two eyed each other. After the initial attack, they were both impressed with the other, though they were by no means about to admit such a thing at the moment.

Eula stood, watching him warily for a few moments, weighing her options. She kept strict eye-contact with him, an important rule in one-on-one combat. In the pause, she didn't realize her mind wandering. Daikon had unusual sea-green eyes. She distantly wondered how someone so awful and close-minded could have such wonderful, soft eyes.

She snapped back to reality when Daikon came at her. She didn't have time to think of a proper defense, so she went down again, performing the same move as before. This proved a mistake. He caught her ankle again, this time twisting it and making her fall back. Lying flat, she went to kick with both footpaws, but before she actually kicked him, she pulled forcibly back towards her.

Having anticipated being kicked, the second movement threw him off, sending him right over her. She got up quickly, turning back and getting on him, pinning him to the log by his shoulders. She knew this was a stupid movement, as she was counting more on strength now, which she was certainly the underdog in here. 

She lost herself, basically fighting with him rather than the real point, which was so throw him _off_ the log. Not pin him to it. He brought his legs up, and Eula, thinking he was going to kick up at her, quickly jumped off him. She was waiting for him to get up, which proved to be the biggest mistake. He used her own move against her, reaching out to kick her footpaws out from under her.

Before she could realize what had happened, Eula had tumbled off backwards into the mud. As she reached up to wipe the gunk from her face, she wondered how she could go along with this and not look like a complete idiot. Not that it would matter; her ego was bruised enough.

Hearing the sounds of the applauding audience, she looked up just in time to see Daikon go flying over her head into the mud. Blinking in confusion, she shot her gaze up to the log where Del stood grinning and waving. "That'd make me the winner, wot!" She shouted enthusiastically, but it didn't take long before she was also tossed into the mud by one of Daikon's friends.

Eula, shaking her head in disbelief, went to try and get out of the sticky mud before she heard yet another body hit the pond. Del had thrown a well-aimed mud ball straight into the other hare's face, felling him.

Before she could get her bearings, a full-fledged mud-fight broke out between Del and the other hare she didn't know. Recognizing her chance to escape with her pride, she turned again to make her way out. Before she could clamber out, she got a face-full from a stray mud ball.

Coughing and spluttering, she clambered gracelessly up the bank, trying to clear her vision. She felt someone grab her arm from beneath the elbow and gently help her to her footpaws. She accepted the help, and the commenced trying to wipe the mud from her face.

"Good game," she heard the familiar voice of the one who'd assisted her. She raised her eyes, fully prepared to give quip, haughty reply to her opponent. When she caught his gaze, she was shocked to see a sincere smile across his likewise mud-covered features. Her resolve melted off and she shrugged one shoulder.

"Good game," she agreed before turning and leaving before she could be humiliated again.

**********

****

A/N- I'm back!! With motivation to write! Yay! *insert long, overdrawn apology/explanation here*


	7. Do Toads Fly?

"C'mon now m'gel, I'm sure it wasn't all that bad!" Jamie consoled Eula after she'd recounted her adventurous undertaking with Daikon on the Log.

The young haremaid sent him a tortured look, to which Jamie gave a small chuckle and shook his head. "He had me flippin' licked! I'm not great, granted. But-" She stopped here to give a frustrated sigh, clapping her paws over her eyes. "That was humiliating!"

Jamie tried not to seem too amused by Eula's obvious distress. "Daikon's jolly well skilled and clever, as much as y'don't want to hear that, wot." He leaned back against the rocks on the shore where they stood talking. "Mayhap y'can make him out to be a sore loser an' all, with his bragging and rubbing it in, eh?"

Eula mumbled something through her paws that Jamie didn't quite catch. "Pray, what was that?"

She lowered her paws, staring at Jamie. "The cad didn't rub it in! He was… nice about it."

"Oh," Jamie blinked, obviously surprised by this bit of information. "What d'ya mean? What'd he say?"

"He just… when I fell he helped… never mind," she said in exasperation, not wanting to go into details.

"Well…" Jamie drew out, lifting a brow at the flustered maid. "Mayhap he was apologizing, wot? Unless I wasn't payin' attention, he hasn't said anything nasty t'you during training."

"Ha!" Eula exclaimed humorlessly. "Go take a nap, Jamie. Your thinking is all out o' whack!"

----------

Eula never knew why, but she actually enjoyed the feeling of waking up with the sun for a morning of dawn training. Getting dressed, and strapping on her blade, she made her way breezily down to breakfast while it was still pitch dark outside.

She found Del already sitting at the table, though her head lay sleepily on her folded arms. Eula plopped down next to her, grabbing a scone and pouring herself some tea.

"G'morning!" She said cheerfully, causing her friend to jump in surprise, and turn her bleary eyes on the younger haremaid.

"Not really," Del muttered, her voice thick and groggy. She grabbed her own cup and took a sip to clear her voice. She gave a sharp shake of her head and forced herself to sit up.

Eula watched her, amused as she ate. Del glanced sideways at her, smirking.

"You look flamin' well pleased with y'self," she smiled, grabbing a scone for herself, eating it as she watched Eula from the corner of her eyes. "Stop lookin' so jolly well awake. You should complain about being up at this atrocious hour, wot!"

After finishing a breakfast that seemed more than appropriate, Eula leapt up. "I'm goin' for a run on the beach b'fore training. Wanna come?"

Del shot Eula a narrow gaze, nonplussed. "Do toads fly?"

Eula pretended to think about it for a few minutes, before shrugging innocently to her friend. "No?" When Del said nothing, Eula prodded her gently. "So you comin'?"

Del snorted in derision, shooing Eula off. Grinning, the younger haremaid let it go and jogged off.

----------

Training that morning ran as expected. Eula had made friends with most of the others in her patrol, and wasn't confined now to only training with Del.

She was working with one of the younger of the group, a male named Thatcher that was quite a bit quieter than most others she met. Because of this, she resisted the urge to create small-talk, and instead, concentrated on her movements, listening intently to the instructions that Jamie would be spouting at intervals.

No one else seemed to notice, but Eula felt Jamie was somehow more subdued this morning than other mornings. He was usually as energized as she felt during training sessions. Today he walked around less, and was a lot less outgoing with his group.

Just as she made a mental note to ask him after training, she was tripped flat onto her back.

----------

Eula was brushing sand from her tunic, deciding that the quiet ones were indeed the ones you had to look out for, when the training session was called to a halt.

The group of exhausted, sleep-deprived Long Patrol hares wandered off to go about their day; some, no doubt, to fall back into bed for a couple more hours of shut-eye.

Eula held back, sheathing her rapier as she waited for everyone to leave. Del turned about, noticing Eula not following. She beckoned the younger haremaid along. "C'mon there, bunch o' the others are meeting up at the springs."

Eula waved her off. "Go on. I'll catch up, wot." Del shrugged, not particularly curious or interested in what held Eula back. She turned and jogged to catch up with the departing hares.

Jamie sat on a bench in the corner of the compound, his sword in his lap with a cloth and a whetstone. He brought his gaze up to Eula. "Somethin' wrong m'gel?"

"Was gonna ask you the same question," she replied, walking over to him. "The others were bein' really sloppy, and normally you would've boxed some ears for it."

Jamie shrugged noncommittally, looking back down at his weapon as he ran his cloth over the smooth blade. "Guess I was just tired."

Eula stood there, shooting him a dubious look. Jamie looked up again to catch the expression. He immediately attempted to change his demeanor.

"Okay then, Oh Impertinent One," he said, obviously trying to shed some light on a situation that was making him uncomfortable. "Yesterday evening I got wind that the lot o' you are soon to be bumped up, Sire's wish, 'tis."

The haremaid gave several blinks, her expression a mixture of shock, confusion, and the slightest bit of excitement. The eccentricity of the situation outweighed the excitement of a promotion at the moment.

"You-but-I just-wait-all of us?" Eula stumbled over and over, not sure which question she was wanting to be answered foremost. He nodded vaguely, dropping his gaze as he ran the whetstone absently over his blade again.

"Well that's, I mean… why…" She paused. "But that's jolly good news, Jamie! Why're you tryin' to bring on the rain?"

"It's not just-" He started vehemently. He stopped himself, biting back a sigh. "I guess so, Eula. I guess so."

Eula frowned. "What's got you so down, huh?"

Jamie was quiet for a long while, and Eula knew he was contemplating whether he was going to give her information or not. Finally, reluctantly, he looked up.

"You all aren't be promoted 'cause you're ready…" he started slowly, his expression quickly softening Eula's when she went to argue. "You're bein' promoted because we need more fighters for a war in Mossflower."

Whatever Eula had been expecting, it wasn't that. She stood there, skeptical. Of course, that was what the Long Patrol was for. To fight wars. To protect others. But….

It was a different experience entirely when you found out you would be personally involved.

"Oh," was all she could manage at the time, her mind whirring with disjointed thoughts and questions. "Jamie, I-"

"I have t'go," he interrupted, frowning slightly as he sheathed his blade. "Officers council." It hurt him noticeably to see the mixture of confusion and uneasiness on Eula's face. "Swing by later, we'll have a chat."

Eula nodded distractedly, and hardly notice when Jamie turned and left.

----------

A/N- Yay for being productive. =) Send in the reviews, please!


	8. Like Some Runner

Over the next several hours, Eula's outlook on the new situation changed dramatically - several times. At the moment, after an afternoon at the springs with the older hares, she felt completely prepared to march off to war with her friends.

She was staring off into space when Del's voice shook her from her reverie. "Y'know, you had the funniest look on your face when you came up, wot."

Eula flicked her gaze to Del, then shrugged indifferently. She hadn't told Del the news. She hadn't told anyone. Somehow, she felt Jamie didn't want the news spilled from her own lips. It was for anybeast of prominence to announce to the fighters.

"Was nothin'," Eula replied flippantly. "Mayhap I swallowed a gnat." She grinned good-naturedly as she balled up the hem of her tunic in her paws and wrung out a bit of water.

Del was immediately aware of the casual pitch Eula's voice adopted when she was lying. She was never one to pry, and followed that custom now, not pursuing the matter. If Eula wanted to tell her, she would in time.

Eula turned to Del after a few silent moments, and Del thought some admission was coming at this point, but she then noticed the mischievous smile on her young friend's features.

"I'll race you back to the gate," she announced challengingly.

Del smirked. Eula _always_ won. She humored the younger haremaid anyway. "Right then.... go!"

Both young haremaids tore across the grassy dunes. The outcome was nothing out of the ordinary. Eula _always _won.

-----

Eula hadn't seen Jamie at lunch that day, and was confused on the matter until she'd heard the officers had taken their meal at the council. Irked by losing her chance to snatch a conversation with him, she now made her way up a set of stairs and down a dim hallway.

Stopping at a door, she knocked a couple times, then waited for an answer.

"Come in," it came.

Eula let herself in and saw Jamie already standing, just a few feet there before the door. She paused, her paw remaining on the door's handle. The expression on Jamie's face made her feel awkward to come in any closer.

He stood, poised, paws behind his back and his eyes fixed sternly on her. Eula blinked, then quirked a smile. "Did I do somethin' wrong?"

Instead of answering, Jamie went along on his own, speaking unusually firmly to her. "I've already informed you that the Long Patrol will be going off to battle. I can only hope you've enough sense to have kept that to yourself. I'm forbidden to tell you anything more until the officers announce it to their patrol's tomorrow morning."

Eula still stood there in the doorway, nonplussed. She wasn't sure what to say, so she stood there, staring blankly at Jamie. She'd never heard him sound so serious before.

Jamie slipped his paw into his cloak and fished a familiar looking slip of paper out. He handed it to Eula, not a trace of emotion giving himself away. Eula took the paper, but stared at Jamie rather than read it.

"The officers at the council felt you'd be of better use as a scout on the patrol," he told her flatly. "Of course, you realize this means you won't be marching with my-"

"What!?" Eula shouted furiously. "Jamie, that's not f-"

"Lieutenant Sersea," he cut her off, correcting her rigidly. Eula stood there, staring in disbelief at 'Lieutenant Sersea.' She searched his face, as if hoping to find some inkling that this was a joke; or at the least, milk some sympathy from him. When neither was forthcoming, she narrowed her eyes.

"I want to fight," she hissed bluntly.

"Being a scout doesn't refrain from you fighting in the battle," Jamie replied calmly.

"No," Eula agreed coldly. "But it means I have to run back and forth reporting between officers like some... like some... _runner!" _She finished rather unimpressively, too incensed to think of something more appropriate.

Jamie raised his brows imperiously at the young haremaid, replying with the same calm, monotonous tone. "You'd do well not to raise your voice to your commanding officer."

"Ja-" she paused. _"Lieutenant Sersea._ Why was I demoted into a flippin' runner?"

"It isn't a demotion."

"That's not what I asked."

"I told you, the officers feel you'll be more suitable as a runner."

"You mean they think I'll be safer and more out of the way as a runner."

"I really have to be going. I'll be seeing you bright 'n' early tomorrow morning," and before Eula could reply, he walked around her, out the door, leaving her alone.

For a few minutes, Eula just stood there, staring down at the paper in her paws. She then walked across the room, balling up the paper as she did so. The balled up slip was thrown into the dying flames of Jamie's fireplace.

"Scout, my eye," she muttered angrily.

-----

A/N- Yup, my traditional excuses for tardiness on my part. Um, vacation... then school... then Hurricane Charley... is that good enough? Please review!


	9. Make Your Report

Eula had spent the remainder of the day fuming, storming about and essentially letting everybeast on the mountain know just how angry she really was. At dinner, she snatched herself a cup, fell heavily into a chair and slammed the cup back onto the table, spilling tea everywhere.

Del raised a brow at her friend, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of cheese. "Mayhap if you try a little harder y'can shatter it." The older haremaid already knew something was wrong with Eula, but felt it was pointless to ask if Eula wasn't going to come straight out and tell her.

All Eula did in reply was to give a loud huff and glare straight ahead. She reached to get herself a slice of potato pie when she heard her name called. Jerking about quickly, she accidentally elbowed her cup, sending her drink to the ground.

The one who'd called her stooped and picked up the fallen cup, setting it gently back onto the table. "My apologies, wot. Didn't mean to startle you m'gel."

"Can I help you?" Eula asked haughtily, crossing her arms and narrowing her gaze challengingly at Daikon. Del remained silent, feeling Daikon could not have chosen a worse time to pluck up a conversation with Eula.

In truth, Eula had an underlying joy, finding vicious pleasure in having a target for her foul mood. She watched silently as Daikon took it upon himself to grab a napkin from the table and mop up the mess Eula had made on the floor. The haremaid only sat there, arms crossed, watching him wordlessly.

Daikon smiled good-naturedly, tossing the napkin he'd finished using lightly back onto the table. "You're quite welcome o' course," he said dryly. When no reply was forthcoming he shifted his attention to Del instead. "Good evenin' Del," he smiled, nodding at her. "Lieutenant wants us out on the compound once we've all eaten," he informed the two haremaids. "Says he's got-"

"Important news?" Eula cut him off, glancing at him through hooded eyes. Daikon's green eyes flicked to Eula.

"Well, if you didn't hit the nail on the jolly ol' head, wotwot!" He grinned, giving an exaggerated wink and bow to the pair of haremaids before preparing to leave. "Though it wouldn't blinkin' surprise me if y'knew the news already, as you're Lieutenant's _favorite."_ It was Daikon's first malicious shot at Eula in a long while.

The younger haremaid took full advantage off the situation. "True, true. Ho, I'm jolly sorry you're so jealous, wot! Y'really should find a rather more appropriate outlet for your anger, don't y'think?"

Del rolled her eyes in exasperation before turning back to the table and continuing her meal.

Daikon was undaunted by Eula's sarcastic retort, but he couldn't figure out how to reply when his mind kept amusing him with the thought of how terribly hypocritical Eula was being. So instead he only stood there with a small smile on his face.

Eula kept eye-contact with him for a few minutes before purposefully knocking her empty cup back to the ground again. Daikon stepped forward, picked up the cup and set it back on the table. He gave another gallant bow. "I'll see you two later then," and before Eula could say anything, Daikon slipped off.

Del seemed to be choking on her food, and Eula turned back to her quickly, worried. It took her a moment to realize her friend was laughing. Tears of mirth moistened the haremaid's eyes, and she shook her head, chuckling helplessly as she tried to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Eula pursed her lips, staring at Del, nonplussed. "What's so funny?"

"Nothin', nothin'," Del insisted. "Jus' remembered a funny joke..."

----------

Instead of the meeting being in the compound, as Daikon had informed Eula and Del, all the Long Patrol hares had been ushered to the shore, where there was enough room for them all to be addressed at once.

All the Long Patrol hares were milling about, conversing quietly and offering their opinions on what the news could be. There was definitely a consensus met among everybeast gathered; the fighting hares were being called upon for help.

Del had abandoned Eula, for the younger haremaid had been annoyingly aloof without meaning to be. Eula didn't even notice that she was alone as she stood there, staring down and scuffing the sand with her footpaws, deep in her own thoughts.

A genial voice shook her from her thoughts. "Didn't know you could be so quiet an' detached."

Eula blinked and looked up, recognizing the quiet hare, Thatcher, from her patrol. She caught on to the friendly tone quickly and smiled. "Didn't know _you_ could talk."

"Jus' not to small, short haremaids," he was quick to parry.

Eula bit her lip, looking up at him with a mockingly dangerous glare. "Try again."

"Jus' not to pretty haremaids?" He offered, grinning amiably.

Before Eula could reply, a harsh voice rang out over the shore. "What're ya doing y'lazy duffers! Dress up smart now, in ranks!" The whole patrol moved fluidly, organizing themselves into straight ranks. Oldest, most experienced troops towards the back, and the younger groups towards the front. Eula fell into rank among her patrol, placing herself between Del and Thatcher.

The officers stood before their subordinates silently, slightly off to the side as Colonel Buttespur marched imperiously before his attentive audience.

"You're all aware I have important news to break to you. Just yesterday evening we received word that a vermin horde is in Mossflower. We haven't yet gotten word of how big this horde might be, but you've all been taught to NEVER underestimate your enemy. Now orders have been made and the lot of you shall be mar-"

He was cut off abruptly as a young runner came skidding into view, nearly colliding with the colonel in a mess of swirling sand. Buttespur caught the young hare and put him back on balance, an angry look on his features. He was about to reprimand the scout before he saw his evidently urgent and frightened expression.

All of the watching patrol, even the officers seemed to lean forward anxiously, wanting to hear every word that came from the mouth of the runner.

Buttespur gave the young male a few moments to collect himself. The scout glanced up, a deep crimson crossing his cheeks in shame. He quickly stood to attention and threw a salute. "Colonel," he acknowledged quickly, still fatigue in his voice.

"Make your report Romney," the colonel replied intently.

The use of his first name seemed to calm the young hare down a tad, and taking a few more gulps of air, he delivered his report rapidly and smoothly. "Vermin horde spotted in northern swamplands. They seem to be led by three foxes, the group altogether is of mixed scummish species," he gave a distasteful scowl at this admission. "They've been headin' relatively-" he paused, dropping his gaze momentarily as he gave a small scuff of his footpaw, "-southwest."

An immediate murmur of discontent swept through everybeast who heard this report. Buttespur put on a stiff face, shaking his head once, muttering, "Is that abbey a damned magnet for vermin?"

Romney stood, looking up silently at Buttespur, awaiting instructions. The colonel nodded at the young runner. "Well done... One moment, chap. How many did the horde number?"

The younger hare fell into a few moments of uncomfortable silence. "A rough estimate, sah?"

Buttespur's eyebrows raised right there. "If that's all you can give."

Romney's gaze dropped again. His face reddened as he was keenly aware of all the eyes and ears paying him such careful attention. "P-perhaps... ah... a h-hundred over a thousand... sah," he said quietly.

All the officers immediately came up to the sides of the colonel and the runner, holding a loud, agitated conference whilst all their patrol just watched on in confusion.

Eula stood back, a stunned look on her face. She'd heard everything Romney had said. She glanced between Del and Thatcher, both of them looking as shocked as she felt.

Thatcher spoke his thoughts allowed. "Over a flippin' thousand? Redwall can't hold off that many..." Del nodded her agreement.

Eula felt a pang of guilt and foolishness. The others were worrying about the Redwallers. She'd been worrying about herself. Now here she was going off to battle with true soldiers, and she was concerned about her own well-being. Irritated with herself, she decided Jamie was right in demoting her.

True blue? She angrily kicked a small shell that was near her footpaw, winning herself a scowl from a younger recruit in front of her.

_Oh bite me._

_----------_

__

A/N- As usual, I'm terribly sorry at my slow progress. Seriously, I could write you a whole story on WHY I've been going so slow. I'd probably entitle it "Of Hurricanes and High School Plays." In other news, I recently celebrated my Sweet Sixteen! -throws confetti- Thanks for reading! Pleeease review! )


	10. Alone Again

"Eula, we have to be ready t'march in less than an hour and we haven't eaten! Hurry y'self UP!"

The pleas fell on deaf ears. Eula's paw ran lightly over a desk, a thick layer of dust being collected into a pile as she did so. She was in one of the dormitories in the living quarters of the mountain.

Hesitantly, she opened a drawer and rummaged through it. She extracted a brown-bound journal from within. She stood there silently for a few moments, staring at it. Almost wincing, she flipped it open, gazing at the inscription on the front inside cover.

Memories are deceiving. Your own words can't lie. -Nate Contarelle

Eula flipped through the pages, surprised to find the journal only half-full. She knew Nate had several, and he always filled them up. Then it occurred to her what that meant.

This is the journal he kept right before-

"Eulatia Kimmanae Contarelle! Come out THIS BALLY instant, or on m'life, I shall come in and DRAG YOU OUT BY YOUR EARS!"

Startled, Eula quickly slapped the booklet shut, turning abruptly to the door, where the handle was jiggling fiercely. She didn't even remember ever having locked it...

"All right, all right, keep your shirt on," Eula muttered, using her footpaw to close the drawer she had opened. Drawing her eyebrows together, she stared at the journal in her paws. Quickly making up her mind, she clutched it in her paws and headed for the door. No reason to let a perfectly good journal go to waste, right?

She met a very disgruntled Del outside the room. "Don't s'pose you could'a taken any longer, wot?"

"I'm sure I could've if I tried," Eula retorted. "And if you ever, Delphina Nasturtium Wilderfinch, use my full title again, I'm sorry t'say I'll be forced to kill you."

Del smirked, amused by the shared sense of humor the younger haremaid possessed with herself. "Point taken m'fine young quipster. What've you got there?"

Eula looked down at the journal in her arms and shook her head a bit. "Nothing important," which was code for 'None of your business.' Del took the hint. Eula swept a bow as she extended an arm down the hall, inviting Del to go first. "Age before beauty."

Del adopted an expression of mock insult. "I'm not so very much older'n you, wot!" She exclaimed, pushing Eula along between her shoulder blades.

Eula tilted her head back and grinned at Del as she was pushed along, having to get her last word in. "Then don't refer t'me as young when you're addressing me, old companion o' mine."

----------

Colonel Buttespur was pacing yet again before his loyal regiment, every sharp eye and every well-tuned ear fixed conclusively on his every word. Amongst the tension, there was a buzzing of unmistakable excitement.

This was what the Long Patrol was for. This is what all of them lived for... And what many died for...

He stopped, fixing his intense gaze on the Long Patrol. There was a long pause as he seemed to be sizing up every individual in the group. He nodded once. "I'll save my thematic monologue. Today, we march."

It seemed only seconds later in Eula's dizzied mind that the fighters were ordered to turn, and the side markers led the march to the northeast.

----------

It was dark when they made their evening camp. They were all given permission to set about somewhere in the open field they'd stopped at. There wasn't much worry about their location, as an ambush on the fighters was highly unlikely.

It had been a long, tedious day. All the first time campaigners were busy rubbing sore footpaws and resting stiff, overworked legs. Not a single one of them would dare confess their fatigue, and would sooner die than let an officer see any of sign of distress from them. After finishing a meager meal (in hare terms) many fell quickly to sleep on the cold ground.

Eula sat a bit apart from any others, trying to shake out the incessant sounds of the officers' voices in her head. She still heard their barking commands, their jibes to keep the company moving. Sitting sideways to a nearby crackling fire, she glanced about her and withdrew her newly acquired journal from her rations pack. She brushed a paw the cover before opening it. Before she could even finish reading the first sentence, a voice made her jump. As if she were doing something wrong, she snapped the journal shut and hid it behind her back.

The violet eyes glanced sharply up at the intruder. She immediately eased at the familiar sight of Thatcher's friendly smile. He squatted before Eula, lifting a brow at the younger hare. "And I find you all alone again," he speculated.

"Don't s'pose it ever occurred to you that I'd _like_ to be alone?" She cheekily inquired.

"Nope, didn't occur to me." And with that, he surprised Eula be sitting down and making himself comfortable.

"So what'd y'shove 'hind your back when I came?"

With only a moment of hesitation, she withdrew the journal, showing Thatcher. "Oh, plenty o' chaps keep journals. Nothin' to be ashamed of."

"Oh, it's not mine!" Eula said quickly, as if wanting to dispel any notion that she'd keep a journal of her own.

"You're reading somebeast _else's?_ Well, that, m'gel, would be wrong."

"It's my brother's."

"You stole your brother's journal?"

"I didn't _steal _it. I mean... I wouldn't... it's just..." She blinked, trying to wrap her tongue around what she was trying to say. "I mean -- he's dead..."

Thatcher bit his lip, feeling foolish. His brow creased in a frown. "Sorry," he mumbled, now looking off in a different direction.

Eula sighed. "Not your fault."

There was a long uncomfortable pause in which Eula sorely regretted mentioning her brother. This was always the reaction. Looking down at the journal in her paws for what seemed like endless minutes, she was relieved when Thatcher broke the silence.

"So what's your favorite color?"

Eula grinned appreciatively, setting the booklet on the ground beside her as she lazed back on her paws. "Green."

"That's funny. Same as mine..."

----------

Eula hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep when she was woken by a prodding at her side. Rolling over and not being able to contain a groan of exhaustion, she forced her eyes open to see Jamie standing beside her. He knelt, speaking softly.

"Eula.... Eula, wake up."

Propping herself up on her elbows, she realized it was still dark out. Only a thin sliver of light could be seen from the east.

"A group of vermin have been seen less than a league off. You've been assigned a run."

----------

A/N No excuses. Shame on me. Happy Holidays everyone! Please review!


	11. Once a Runaway

Eula was quickly learning to enjoy this sneaking about business. For all their loud and garrulous natures, one would wonder how hares could develop such a keen skill at sneaking and spying. The answer is a simple one; every leveret learns the fine art through repeated pilfering of the mountain's kitchens.

Now she crouched in perfect silence as she observed a small band of vermin; two rats and a weasel. By the way they spoke, Eula knew there were more of them, and they would be back soon. They didn't seem to be much of a threat. Just as Eula was about to back out and leave, she stopped, hearing something that caught her attention.

"I still say 'e's gonna send summin out t'find us," one of the rats said, in what appeared to be quite a worried voice. He was a skinny creature with small, watery eyes and a very frantic, jumpy way about him.

"Come offit Slopp," said the weasel. He possessed a very irritating, wheezing voice that made Eula cringe when he spoke. "If'n we knew you was gonna go on whingin' the whole time, we would'a left you behind."

"Oh, but I saws what he did to that last bunch o' deserters! Skinned 'em alive he did! I hears they got chopped up fer a stew and fed to the officers."

Now the other rat spoke up. He was a nasty looking creature. He appeared quite slow and overweight, but compensated by possessing half a dozen various weapons attached to his body. "Bet you'd believe anythin' you heard. Stew, my -"

"Quit your bickerin' you addle-pates," the nearby voice made all of them jump, including the hidden haremaid. A tall, lean fox strode into view, glaring at the other three lounging vermin. "If you keep on about getting caught, I swears by my ol' momma's grave I'm gonna LET them find you. Your dead carcass, that is."

There was a large mutual gasp, then a heavy silence among the assembled crew. Eula had to shove a paw into her mouth to keep from laughing at the reaction. The fox turned to look behind him and called with a sneer. "Hurry up dolts. 'S a good thing you left the horde, can't even deal with a pair o' babes!"

That made Eula freeze. She stared out as another fox and another rat came ambling into the clearing, each holding a small, struggling mouse Dibbun. Eula half stood to stop them, then checked herself, gritting her teeth.

"Get a nice ransom outta 'em, eh?" The first fox, who appeared to be the leader, sniggered agreeably as the two holding the Dibbuns lashed the small creatures to a tree and tightened the bonds around their mouths. They appeared to be twins, identical young males, both sending the vermin loathsome glares with their dark brown, almost black eyes.

Eula studied the two mouse Dibbuns, frowning. They were dirty and wore clothing only hardly above what could be described as rags. Whatever ransom these vermin were expecting, that mouse family wasn't in any shape to pay up.

"At the least some grub," he smirked. Striding confidently over to the pair, he jabbed one in the stomach with a paw. "You two sucklings seem well fed enough." The one who was jabbed replied by kicking the fox's arm. Accomplishing little, Eula had to smile a bit at the youngster's courage.

"Ow, you little snot!" The fox exclaimed, grabbing his arm as if he were in pain. He struck the small mouse Dibbun at the temple, sneering angrily. The mousebabe's eyes smarted in pain before he slumped down, the fight knocked out of him.

"You milksoppy coward!" Eula said angrily, outraged at the treatment of the little Dibbun. There was a shocked silence as seven pairs of eyes turned in her direction.

Damn.

The thick, heavily armed rat came and dragged Eula out by the neck of her tunic, tossing her unceremoniously to the ground. Eula bit back a sigh, brushing down her tunic as she stood.

"Kindly do not touch me, sah. Seasons know what flamin' diseases YOU'RE harboring," she said indignantly. Then, as an afterthought, she added quietly. "Filthy scum."

Several blades were pointed in her direction at this point. She cleared her throat, glancing carefully around her without moving her footpaws. Her eyes landed on the skinny, complaining rat. "My goodness, has the blade of yours ever ONCE been whetted? Must say, not bally surprised you care little for your weapons. I don't believe you could chop an apple with that disgrace, old chap."

"Ho, ain't this'n a reckless rabbit, chums?" The fox leader swaggered up, staring Eula up and down.

The haremaid's shoulders slumped, as if in impatience. "Tell me, sah. Is it vermin-code to always call a hare a rabbit? Quite wrong. Points for alliteration, though, wot!" She grinned and winked at the fox. "Shall I help? How 'bout... heroic hare?"

"Shutcher face!" He yelled, pointing his blade at her throat. Eula fell silent. She was in stalling mode now. No matter how cowardly these vermin might be, she was outnumbered five to one and stood no chance.

The fox was scrutinizing her, and an expression of understanding crossed his features. "Yer one o' them Salamountain hares, ain'tcha?"

"Yes, I am one o' them Salamountain hares," she replied mockingly.

"Don't you lot normally go in groups?" He inquired.

Eula paused, considering her options here. This fox obviously knew about the Long Patrol. A sly smirk crossed her features. "That's right, bushtail." To play off her part a bit more, she acted as if she were trying to take a few discreet glances into the foliage, looking for somebeast.

The vermin crew immediately grabbed their weapons tighter, scurrying together in a huddle as they stared into the surrounding woodlands.

Eula chuckled. "Cowards. 'S no wonder y'ran away from your stupid horde."

She took in a quick breath as the fox pressed the cold steel of his dagger against the soft flesh of her neck. He was close, staring straight into her eyes.

"Yer fibbin," he growled in a low, menacing tone, pressing the dagger deeper against her.

Eula, drawing up what courage she had left, looked straight back, with a defiant smile. "Mayhap."

The fox's answer came swiftly and without warning as a shout broke through the quiet clearing. "Eulalia!!"

----------

A/N - To make up for my lack in constant update-fulness, I did two chapters. The next one should come soon, too. Please review!


	12. Rat Out

With the sudden given distraction, Eula's paw shot straight for the rapier at her side. She hadn't counted on her opponent reacting so swiftly. Before she could close her paw around the hilt, her arm was wrenched behind her back and she was pushed roughly to the ground.

Her dominant paw being held by the fox and a sharp blade being pressed against her throat, Eula was at a loss. The sudden fall to the ground had dazed her. Now she lay blinking, trying to bring the situation back into focus.

Something was wrong. She couldn't see any frantic fighting, nor hear any shouts of battle. When her vision cleared, she raised her eyes, seeing another hare holding the fat rat against a tree with his sword. She heard a short exchange before the rat went sliding to the ground, unconscious.

The hare turned now to Eula and the fox pinning her to the ground. A deep feeling of shame and utter embarrassment engulfed her. It was Daikon. She would be so lucky.

"Let her go," Daikon demanded in a calm voice, yet his eyes were cold and dangerous. When the fox didn't answer, Daikon sheathed his blade and held his arms out disarmingly. "Think of it this way, chap. Flamin' well got nothin' to gain by killing her, because I'd kill you. Your other bush-tailed mate over here thought he'd fight - doesn't jolly well look like he'll be gettin' up again soon, wot."

Eula's free paw clenched as she felt the sharp blade press deeper, cutting at her flesh. She had no other choice but to trust Daikon with her life now.

"An' then that rotund rat yonder - well, he'll wake up suffering no more than a headache. Your two skinny friends up and ran - the rest of our group shall, of course, find them. Who's to know if they're as nice as I am?"

"If I let your eavesdropping little girlfriend go, what's gonna stop you two ganging up on me?" The fox asked casually, claws digging into Eula's wrist.

"I've no interest in condemning you, fox," Daikon said, and a note of anger crept into his voice. "Only of looking after a comrade and saving those Dibbuns from your filthy clutches."

There was a long pause, in which the fox seemed to be considering his options. Eula felt the claws dig deeper into her wrist as the fox got up and demanded Eula to do the same, still holding the dagger to her throat. "You can take the brats and do with them what you wish, I'm taking your friend. One wrong move, and she's dead, hear?"

Daikon sighed, shaking his head despairingly at the vermin. "Just once I wish you low-lives could think of an interesting, more original bargain."

Eula knew she was in a much better position now, and the fox was far too busy wondering if Daikon would be the one to strike. With her footpaws planted firmly beneath her, and the dizziness subsided, she felt much more calm. She had a moment of wishing Daikon wouldn't insult the fox while she had a dagger to her throat. However, he sent her a surreptitious glance, and Eula realized the time to make her move was now or never.

Taking a quick breath, she brought her leg up and then brought it back forcefully, kicking the fox in the shin. She moved sideways in the same moment, avoiding the dagger as it came backwards. Caught off guard, the fox released his hold on Eula long enough for the haremaid to turn about and pull her rapier free. In a short spree of luck, Eula also noticed the fox had lost his dagger and was scrambling for it. Eula swept her blade up, but before she could bring it down, she heard a shout behind her.

"No, don't!" Daikon grabbed her arms as they came up, stopping her from bringing the weapon down. It wouldn't have been hard for Eula to continue with her downward swipe, but the sudden order from Daikon, and the urgency in his voice stayed her paws. She whirled her head and shot him a challenging glance.

Daikon's attention was over Eula's shoulder, where the fox stayed on the ground, clutching the dagger. He'd apparently decided against attacking the two regiment hares standing over him. Daikon continued to hold Eula's wrists back, even when her grasp slackened.

"Now, shall we try this again you witless wretch?" Daikon began in a low, fierce growl. "You bolt with your life, or make another stupid move and see what happens, eh?"

The fox's sharp, calculating gaze swept over them as he weighed his choices. He slipped his dagger back into its sheath and pushed up a bit before standing. He walked slowly off, keeping his eyes on the hares. Once he felt a safe distance, he took off at top speed.

Daikon released his hold on Eula and stood calm, looking down at her almost expectantly.  
Eula scowled. "You let him go, you fool! What's wrong with you? Why did you stop me?"

Before Daikon could answer, they both heard crying coming from nearby. They turned to see the two small mouse Dibbuns lashed to the tree sobbing. Daikon nodded in their direction. "That's why," he replied quietly.

-

The return journey was considerably slower, and began taxing severely on Eula's patience. They'd agreed to each take a Dibbun apiece to hold. Eula ended up picking the inquisitive, squirmy one. The one in Daikon's arms had long since fallen asleep during the trip, little arms slumped over the hare's shoulders in exhaustion.

"So since I'm just so insufferably incompetent, you found it necessary to follow me on my run?" Eula asked coolly, staring straight ahead.

Daikon half-smiled, shaking his head. "It's customary. Everybeast gets a spotter of sorts on their first run."

Eula smiled cynically. "An' lo, I was lucky enough t'get you! Quite the flippin' joke, that. Have fun tattling on me to the Lieutenant." She added bitterly.

There was a few moments of silence before Daikon spoke again. "It's also customary to… y'know… not report what the runners did wrong."

Eula turned her head and raised a brow at the older hare. "Y'mean you aren't going to tell him?"

He caught her glance sideways. "Who am I t'break tradition?"

Eula was silent for a few beats, considering. "This changes nothing between us."

"Understood."

-

A/N Yay! Up later than I'd hoped, but with my schedule currently, I'm lucky I got it up at all. Please review! I have some action coming up soon that I can't wait to get into.


	13. Captiffation

"So how did you get the Dibbuns if you didn't break the rules and go into the camp after them?" Jamie was interrogating the two recruits who had just returned from a run with mouse Dibbuns in tow. He was hardly able to contain a grin at Eula and Daikon as their story changed with each retelling.

"Oh, well you see... The fox and his crew'd already up an' jolly well flounced off, leavin' the Dibbuns alone. So we jus' went in and grabbed them," Eula replied haltingly. She took sideways glances at Daikon to make sure he was going along with her story.

"But Daikon took out a fox and a rat, did he not? Where was _that_ encounter, pray tell?"

"We were ambushed-" "-We ran into them." The two took contradictory sides at the same moment.

Eula cleared her throat. "Yes. Ambushed," she said, agreeing with Daikon's statement.

"Ambushed?" Jamie queried.

"That's right," the other two replied in unison.

Jamie leaned back against a tree, smiling at the two hares of his patrol. "So... is that the story you'd like to stick with?"

Eula nodded. "I think so. Does it cover all the bases?"

The young lieutenant smirked and shook his head a bit. "If you can somehow manage to keep all your lies straight, then you should be able to stay out of trouble."

Daikon and Eula decided not to reply to that, standing there in silence before their commanding officer. The Lieutenant nodded towards Eula. "You're dismissed. Daikon, I still want a word with you."

"Sah," Daikon replied with a slight nod, watching Eula turn and go off.

She strode across the camp and found Del and Thatcher sitting together talking. Del glanced up as Eula came by them. "Ho! We were wonderin' where y'got yourself off to."

Eula sat with them, letting out a breath of lassitude. "Had my first run this morning. An' would you know it, I'm _famished."_

"That's good," Thatcher said with a smile, reaching to his side and picking up a bowl full of soup. "Because I saved this for you. Still on the warm side, too."

"Thank you!" Eula exclaimed, delighted as she took the bowl from his paws. However, before she could pull away, Thatcher took her paw and turned it up, his brow raising at the sight of her wrist.

"Some nasty marks y'got there," he said, speculating the deep gouges the fox's claws had inflicted upon her arm.

"I'm fine," Eula said, and she truly felt fine, just wanting to get to the soup that, at the moment, looked like the most delicious meal that had ever been made. She was surprised to find her wrist held fast as she tried to pull away.

Thatcher had taken his water canteen and wet a strip of cloth, cleaning the cuts on Eula's arms. Eula watched unhappily as the cleaned injuries started to bleed all over again. Thatcher was quick to pull out a soft, spongy length of material which he wrapped about her wrist several times before tying it off firmly, yet comfortably. "How does that feel?"

Eula nodded, noting it did feel better than before. "Thank you."

Thatcher smiled. "Now hurry up and finish your soup. I've a feeling we'll be marching again soon before our night camp."

-

Meanwhile Daikon was having to fend off a mouse couple who'd come to claim the Dibbun twins. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say he was fending off a mousewife, as the father was just standing off to the side, remaining silent.

"You kidnappers!" she shrieked. "We followed you all the way here! You... you... give me back my babies!" Daikon's eyes crossed at the paw that was being waggled in his face. He looked around at the lieutenant questioningly. Daikon saw a grin quickly drop from Jamie's features as he cleared his throat.

"I can assure you marm, your Dibbuns are quite fine! We just sent them over to the nurse to make sure they weren't injured."

"Injured? Injured? Because of YOU ALL they would be injured!" she worked herself up again. Daikon realized just in time that the mousewife intended to strike him. He shot his arm out and caught her wrist. "That would've been quite unnecessary, wot. So miss, if you were payin' such wonderful rapt attention to your darlings, when did you notice them missing?"

"When we saw you _take them!"_

Daikon's eyes narrowed, still holding the mouse's wrist. "Saw WHO take them, pardon?"

"You... you and that maid friend of yours!"

Daikon was silent a few moments, taking the situation into consideration. Suddenly he let go of her wrist. "My sincere apologies marm. We were apparently quite mistaken. What did you say your twins names were?"

"Rocco and Stocco," she shot back venomously. "Now go get them this instant."

Daikon nodded. "We'll be back in a jiff," he said, emphasizing the 'we'll' as he glanced over at Jamie. He turned and strode from the tent they were in. Jamie looked off, then followed him, mystified.

Jamie caught up to Daikon. "What, pray tell, was that about?"

Daikon turned and looked at his commanding officer. "The Dibbuns' names are Heath and Henrik."

-

The twins had long since escaped the confines of the makeshift hospital tent, running free about the Long Patrol camp.

Eula felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see one of them pointing a stick at her with a mischievous look on his face. "Ha, I caught'chu! Gonna be my captiff now! Gonna tie ya up an' get tonsa yummy food so's they can getcha back!"

"H'lo Henrik," Eula mumbled, shaking her head a bit. "Shouldn't you be... not here?"

"Tchah! Not Henrik! I'm Heath you silly flopears!" He exclaimed, tapping her on the shoulder with his stick. "You hush, captiff!"

"Gotcha surrounded, hahaha!" Thatcher turned quickly to see the other twin pop up on his side, also brandishing his own stick.

"Oh my, Eula, we've been ambushed!"

"Tha's right! An' you too!" Heath shouted, jabbing his stick in Del's direction. "You all captiffs!"

"Oy, you two troublemakers!" Daikon came striding up to the group. Heath turned about swiftly to see who'd hailed them, and Eula had to duck quickly to avoid being smacked over the head by the mouse Dibbun's careless stick swinging.

"Hi Daikon!" the twins chorused in delight, immediately running over to greet them. "We was jus playin.' But'chu know we're great warriors! Didja see me whack that foxer good?" Heath asked excitedly. He was quite obviously the ringleader of the duo.

"I sure did," Daikon said, faking a gushing, complimentary demeanor. "I have a new game for us all to play now, how's that sound?"

"'Kay sure!" Henrik agreed. "Wha' kinda game?"

Jamie came up, smiling fondly at the two young mice. "It's a really fun game, but you have to pay close attention the rules, okay?"

The two nodded furtively and waited for the Long Patrol officer to explain the rules to the new game.

-

A/N - Sorry this isn't the best chapter, but filler's necessary to get to the fun action. So... please review!


End file.
